Trailer hitches are manufactured in a variety of sizes and configurations. One common type of trailer hitch is a ball hitch which is used in combination with a ball coupler of a trailer. In the United States and Canada, hitch balls do not have one standard size. For example, common hitch ball sizes include 17/8 inches, 2 inches and 25/16 inches. Hitch ball size variance is a problem because vehicles equipped with a single hitch ball cannot pull trailers having couplers sized to mate with hitch balls of different sizes.
Another common type of trailer hitch is a pintle hitch. Pintle hitches are typically generally hook shaped and are designed to be coupled with a lunette ring of a trailer. Pintle hitches are rated for higher pulling strengths than ball hitches and are therefore used to pull larger loads.
A problem exists in that there are few hitch systems available that can be converted between 17/8 inch hitch balls, 2 inch hitch balls, 25/16 inch hitch balls and pintle hitches. Existing devices that are convertible between hitch balls and pintle hitches are large, expensive to manufacture and unattractive.